Shunting realisation
by Rick the magical engine
Summary: It is the winter of 1891. The four magical Furness K2 quadruplets Rick, Norm, Melody and Romy are sitting in the shed they share with the engines of the S&M. Melody complains that she had trouble with trucks, but Rick, whom doesn't have any experience with trucks. That causes Melody to rush out of the sheds. Can Rick make up with her?
1. Chapter 1

This story contains four Furness K2's named Rick, Norm, Melody and Romy. Rick is green with red stripes, Norm is Silver with a red smokebox and black stripes, Melody is yellow with red stripes and Romy is blue with golden stripes.

Its the winter of 1891 and there is heavy snowfall on the island of Sodor. Rick backs up into the shed he and his twins share with the three Sodor and Mainland engines.

'What a day.' he says and he releases a big cloud of steam. 'Indeed, little brother, indeed.' Norm agrees with him. 'I don't understand why mister Adams thinks we need those rigid snowploughs! They are so annoying!' The silver engine complains. 'Calm down Norm, you need your snowplough. Just look outside!' Rick says, trying to show his brother why they need it. It is snowing fiercely and it doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon. 'I see you have a point.' They hear a familiar whistle and shortly after their younger twin sister's Melody and Romy enter their berths. 'Evening Norm, evening Rick.' they say. 'Evening you to. How have your days been?' the green tender engine asks. 'Maintenance went well. We fixed a piece of track on the hill.' Romy says. 'And how has your day been, Melody?' Melody sighs. 'I had trouble building up steam. I had also a lot of trouble with the trucks.' Norm smirks. 'Trucks! They are weak and dirty, how can they give you trouble!?' He bursts out in laughter. Romy scoffs. 'You wouldn't know that. You only pull the express.' Melody looks at Rick with tear filled eyes. 'I have to agree with Norm on this.' he says. Melody charges out of the shed with tears streaming out of her eyes. 'Melody, wait!' Rick tries to go after her but Romy's words stop him. 'Don't! you have done enough!' The blue tender engine puffs after her sister and leaves her two brothers behind.

The next morning arrives and it stops snowing for a while. Rick stops at the station in Vicarstown and buffers up to the coaches Neil has already shunted for him. The manager, Felix Adams, walks up to the green engine. 'Rick do you know what… Rick!?' Rick wakes up with a shock. 'Huh… yes sir?' Felix looks crossly at his engine. 'Where you asleep?' Rick sighs. 'Yes, mister Adams, I was. Melody and I had a fight yesterday, and she ran away crying. I wasn't able to sleep after that. I am sorry sir.' Mister Adams frowns. 'So that's what happened.' Rick raises an eyebrow. 'What do you mean, sir?' 'Melody took the goods train I wanted you to double head with her all by herself this morning.' A worried look appears on Rick's face. 'I hope she is alright.' Suddenly, the stationmaster runs up to them. 'Sir, I just received an fax saying Melody has broken down at the foot of the hill!' 'What happened!?' 'They say she snapped an axle and she has burst her boiler.' A loud whistle penetrates the air as Rick storms out of the station, leaving his confused passengers behind.

Melody sighs. 'I shouldn't have been so foolish.' she mutters to herself. 'Don't worry about it Melody.' Her driver, Lee Gray, leans against her tender. 'it wasn't your fault.' Melody bursts out into tears. 'Except it is! Mister Adams told me he wanted Rick to double head this train with me. I lied to you. I am so sorry, I just couldn't stand to see him.' Lee gently pats the side of her tender. 'The two of you had a fight, didn't you?' Her answer is drowned by the sound of Rick's whistle. 'Not now!' Melody cries out in frustration. 'Easy girl, it is not possible he is going to make fun of you now.'

Rick can't believe his eyes. The crack in Melody's boiler is huge and she is leaning to her left due to the broken axle. He silently comes to a halt beside her. He hears the trucks giggle behind him but decides to ignore it for the time being. 'Melody, I am… so sorry.' He starts. 'I have never pulled trucks before, so I just said what my personal experience was. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want it to come to this. Does it hurt much?' Melody looks at him and realises something. She has been sitting in the same spot for two hours, but she was only in pain for the first fifteen minutes. 'I feel fine, somehow.' she says. She looks closer at her brothers face. 'It looks like you're in pain! What happened Rick?!' Rick tries to force a smile, but he fails. 'It's my fault you broke down. I should be the one to feel the pain.' Melody looks at him with big eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, but at that moment Neil arrives with the breakdown train.

One hour later Melody is secured tightly on a flatbed. 'Take care little sis.' Rick says. 'You to, big brother.' Neil departs, taking Melody back t Vicarstown. Rick looks at the trucks. 'I expect no trouble from you, am I clear?' he says while a green aura appears around his eyes. 'No sir!' the trucks say, terrified. 'Good, I'll try not to bump you as long as you don't cause any trouble. I never pulled a goods train before, so I can't promise this will be the most comfortable trip for you.' He couples to the first truck, a large rusty tanker. 'I'll try to keep them in order if you'd like.' Rick smiles. 'What's your name?' he asks. 'Hans, sir.' 'You don't have to call me sir. My name is Rick. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hans.' Hans smiles. 'Likewise Rick.'

The green K2 drops sone sand on the rails to increase his grip. 'Alright, here goes nothing.' He slowly moves forward and the trucks are surprised with how gentle he is. He slowly makes his way to the top without any incident. As he starts to decent, he notices a problem. 'What's going on? We are going a bit to fast Rick.' Hans says, starting to get worried. 'I don't have any sand left! I can't get any grip on the rails!' he yells, panicking. Hans grins. 'I have an idea.' he says. 'Do it!' "Everybody, hold back! We need to slow down.'

If it had been any other train, things would have looked grim for Rick. Luckily, there were four trucks on this train that were helpful most of the time: Hans, Els, Bob and Ed.

'Hold back!' Those words got repeated by three other trucks and Rick felt how his coupling got jerked. 'We need to stop at Wellsworth. When we're there, I'll ask mister Adams to give you all an overhaul!' The trucks cheered after hearing that and used their full weight to slow the train down. Rick slides into Wellsworth with locked wheels before coming to a complete stop. Mister Adams walks towards the engine with a confused look on his face. 'That certainly was a way to enter the station.' he says. Rick blushes slightly. 'I used up all my sand while climbing the hill and couldn't get a grip on the rails when we went downhill. Without the help of these trucks I would never have been able to stop in time. I want to ask you if you could give them an overhaul.' The man smiles at him. 'If you say so. Besides, I can see that these trucks really need a new coat of paint at the very least. Do you have any advise for me?' Rick stays silent for a couple of minutes. 'I think I have.' he says. 'I could ask Amber to bring a load of wood from Asney lumberyard to the works near Bea, Rafe probably won't mind to take some metal from the Mullagh Slogh mineral mine and bring it to the works as well. I'll make sure the workmen will make the right parts and I'll ask Ellery and Libby to take the parts to this place.' Everyone at the station has stopped working and looks at Rick with surprise on their faces. 'What?' 'Rick, you talk like a controller. I know you have a important job on the Obbeeys Railway but you talk like you're in charge.' Rick smiles. 'I would love to tell you more about it, if you want to, Felix.' The stationmaster, who was walking towards them, stops dead in his tracks when he hears the first name of his boss. 'You know Rick, my daughter Bella is going through a difficult time. I would like you to send some time with her. Tell her stories, make jokes, keep her company, things like that. It would mean a lot to me.' Rick smiles. 'It would be my pleasure, Felix. But we need to find someone to do my work while Melody is being repaired.' Mister Adams raises an eyebrow. 'What do you mean, your work?' 'Sir, I feel responsible for all of this. The core of the problem was my lack of experience with trucks. I want to prevent something like this from ever happening again. I want to learn as much about trucks and shunting as possible. I hope you don't mind.' The man starts laughing. 'Of course not Rick. In fact, I am very happy with your decision. It means you'll be able to be even more useful then you already are.' Rick smiles. 'I'll ask Chloe to cover for me. She is a blue Stirling Single, the passengers will like her for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of days later…

'I just don't get it. Why do you keep bumping the trucks?' Neil sighs. 'It is the only way they'll behave.' Hans scoffs. 'Nonsense, most of us behave just fine as long as we are treated gently. You engines just refuse to be careful!' 'That's why we like Rick so much, he treats us the same way as coaches!' Bob adds. Rick chuckles. 'you'll see plenty of me in the future. I have talked with mister Adams and we came to an agreement that as soon as Melody is repaired, she will take over my passenger duties.' Everyone looks shocked at the tender engine. 'What!? Then why are you so happy about it?!' Neil exclaims. 'I was the one to propose the change. I like pulling freight and shunting way more than I liked pulling passengers.' 'Rick, you're weird.' Hans finally says. The other just smiles at the comment. 'Dad, I am not a kid anymore!' Neil groans. 'Great, that brat again.' 'What brat?' the Furness K2 asks. "Bella, the daughter of mister Adams. She hates us for some reason.' Rick thinks for a second. 'I am going to take a look.' he says while he starts to move forward.

'I don't want to talk with those green boxes on wheels!' Bella screams. 'Calm down sweety. I am trying to help.' Felix says in a calming manner. 'Well, I don't want your help!' Bella runs away from her father without looking where she is going, resulting in her running full speed against Rick's tender. 'Auw!' 'Are you alright?' Bella shakes her head to get her vision clear. 'Yeah, I'm fine.' Felix walks towards his daughter. 'I told you to be careful when you're at a station. Why don't you listen for once!' he scolds her. 'I assume this is your daughter, Felix?' the voice from earlier says. 'Indeed, Bella, this is Rick.' Bella looks confused at her father. 'I thought Clive, Matthew and Neil were the only two engines you had.' 'I don't own Rick. He helps out with some of the trains, but he is not part of the railway.' Rick backs up to look the two humans in the face. 'I come from a large railway where my brother, my two sisters and myself are basically the owners.' Bella looks at the green tender engine with huge eyes. 'Really!?' Rick smiles at her, causing her to blush. 'Yes, I can take you there, if you'd like.' The sixteen year old girl looks at her feet. 'I would like that.' Mister Adams smiles. 'How about I give you a couple of days off so you can give my daughter a tour around your railway?' Rick chuckles. 'I would love that. Besides, I don't think the schools will be open with this weather. I'll go refuel and get my snowplough ready.' He backs out of the station in a huge cloud of steam.

'So, what do you think of him?' Felix asks. 'He is okay, I guess.' Bella replies, trying to hide her red face. 'Really now. Dear, I've seen how you look at him. It is clear you like him.' Bella shakes her head. 'Even if so, he probably has a girlfriend.'

Lee puts the last bolt into place. 'There you go Rick.' The engine smiles and whistles as a thank you. He pulls up beside Felix and Bella. 'Rick, before you go, may I ask a question?' the man asks. 'Sure.' 'Are you single?' Rick eyes the man suspiciously. 'Yes, why do you ask?' Felix shrugs. 'No reason really.' Bella enters his cab with a red head. 'Can you go now?' Rick glances one last time at Felix before blowing his whistle. 'Sure, let's go.'

The two are silent for about ten minutes. 'Bella, I need you to listen to me carefully.' Rick says, causing the girl to snap her attention back to the engine. 'The Obbeeys Railway is bigger and bussier than the S&M, so I need you to follow my instructions closely. If you can't do that, the journey ends here. Is that understood?' Bella nods. 'Yes Rick. Where is the Obbeeys Railway located at?' The green engine hesitates for a moment. 'Ever heard about the magical quadruplets?' Bella giggles, causing Rick to blush. 'Who hasn't. Four magical engines from another universe. They say that the oldest is silver and has the number 18200601 on his tender, the second is green and…' Bella stops as she realises something. 'And has the number 18200602 on his tender, the third is yellow and has the number 18200603 on her tender and the fourth is blue and has the number 18200604 on her tender.' Rick finishes. 'What number do you have on your tender again, Rick?' Bella asks, shaking a bit. 'Indeed, the first was Norm, then me, followed by Melody and Romy was the last of us. You don't have to be scared of me, though.' Bella shakes her head and regains her composure. 'I am not scared of you, I just thought you were a fairy tale. I guess we are going to that other universe.' 'Indeed. The portal is a set of buffers inside the yard of Barrow-in-Furness. I need you to trust me. We don't want to get stuck between dimensions, now do we.' Bella shakes her head. 'I trust you. I mean, you help my father with his business.'

One hour later.

'So these are the buffers?' Bella walks around them. 'They look like any other pair of buffers to me.' Rick chuckles. "Believe me, they are much more than that.' She shrugs and walks back to him. 'If you say so.' She climbs into his cab. 'Bella, when we go through the portal, you might lose your balance. I suggest you hold onto something.' The girl wraps an arm around the support beam between his two cab windows. 'I'm ready.' The engine charges forward and the moment his buffers touches the buffers, everything went white for them. Bella feels her feet lose contact with the cab's floor, before her vision return, and her feet bump into the floor, making her lose her balance. 'Bella, welcome to the Obbeeys Railway.' The girl looks around in amazement. In front of them is a big station building with four platforms and a roof made of glass arc's. On her left is a turntable and several sidings. On her right are seven shunting sidings and beyond that are four goods sidings. 'Wow!' is al Bella can produce. A bell brings her back to reality. A brown GER Class 15 tram engine approaches them. 'Hello Rick, what are you doing here?' Rick chuckles. 'What? Can't I visit once in a while? The tram rolls its eyes. 'I am taking someone on a tour, Griswal.' 'I see. Who?' Bella pokes her head out of Rick's cab. 'Hello, I am Bella.' The tram smiles. 'I am Griswal. I am pleased to meet you.' Bella gives a nod. 'Are you the station pilot?' Griswal chuckles. 'No, I am the station pilot of Balley station. Rafe is Bea's station pilot.' Suddenly a whistle fills the air. Griswal chuckles. 'Speak of the devil. How are you Rafe?' A red tank engine with six small wheels, a short stompy funnel, short stompy boiler and a short stompy dome enters the station with a small goods train. Rick rolls forward into the station and smiles at him. 'I am doing great, thanks for asking. Hello Rick, what brings you here?' 'I am showing this girl around the railway.' 'I see.' The stationmaster walks up to Rick. 'I am sorry Rick, but you can't stay on this track. Please move to the sheds, if you want to continue your conversation. The controller is also at the sheds, if you want to speak to her.' 'I understand.' The green engine moves towards the shed.

Violet Hodgson nods to herself in approval. 'The sheds are in perfect condition.' All of a sudden a familiar whistle fills the air causing Violet to turn around. 'Rick! It is so nice to see you!' The tender engine smiles at her. 'Likewise. How are you doing Violet?' 'I am good, thank you.' She then notices the girl in his cab. 'Who is that?' she asks. 'Violet, meet Bella Adams, the daughter of Felix Adams. Bella, this is Violet Hodgson, the current controller of the Obbeeys Railway.' Bella jumps out of Rick's cab and gives the young woman a hand. 'It is nice to meet you miss.' Violet smiles. 'Please, call me Violet. Everyone does.'

About an hour later are Bella and Rick by the viaduct crossing Jannooby Canyon. Bella leans against the wall of the cab. 'This view is beautiful. I could watch this all day.' She sighs. 'This place is amazing.' Rick smiles. A soft crumbling sound catches his attention. He looks down at the floor of the viaduct and gets quite a scare. Cracks are forming with terrifying speed. 'Bella, hold on. The viaduct isn't safe!' Confused, Bella takes hold of the cab window. Rick starts to speed up and before they know it, he has reached his top speed of 100 miles per hour. A loud bang makes both of them jump. A piece of the bridge behind them collapses and falls down below. 'Faster!' Bella screams in fear. 'I am going as fast as I can!' Rick replies. They continue thundering over the viaduct while it collapses. After ten minutes they reach the end of the viaduct and they get back onto solid ground.

Lattie smiles when she thinks about the conversation she had with her sister earlier that day. She chuckles when she remembers the silly things she said about the repair machine. She is getting ready to depart with her express when a familiar whistle fills the air. A green tender engine enters the station with screeching brakes. 'Stop all trains! The viaduct has collapsed!' The stationmaster immediately runs into the station building. 'Are you sure?' Lattie asks sceptically. 'Yes, I am 100 percent sure.' A girl climbs out of his cab. 'That was terrifying!' She is trembling and pale. 'Are you alright Bella?' She leans against the tender of the green engine and nods. 'Yeah, I am fine. Just recovering from the shock.' 'What do you think happened?' Lattie asks Rick. 'I have no idea.' The stationmaster walks to Rick. 'I have informed the other side of the canyon. We are lucky traffic was low today. Miss Violet will be here in two hours. Please make yourself useful until then.' Rick smiles. 'Of course.'

Romy enters Vicarstown yard and looks around. 'Rick? Where are you?' Clive stops beside her. 'Neil told me that he took the daughter of mister Adams to your railway. He isn't here.' Romy sighs. 'Great, now I need to get my goods train ready by myself. I thought I could catch my breath for a bit, but no, the universe doesn't like me.' Clive chuckles. 'Having a hard day?' he asks. 'Yeah, I feel stuffy.' The sound of a bell catches their attention. Griswal chuffs into the yard. 'Griswal!? What are you doing here?' Romy exclaims. 'The viaduct has collapsed. Miss Violet wants the three of you to come back.' Romy frowns. 'I will get Norm, Melody is in the works so she can't help.'

A little bit later.

Romy, Norm and Chloe looks expectantly at mister Adams. 'I'll get some engines from the mainland to cover for you. Go help your railway out. I will sent Melody back as soon as she is repaired.' The three engines whistle thankfully and steam of towards Barrow-in-Furness.


End file.
